Many rural region consumers will only have one Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage option next year, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Here are seven observations:
1. In 2016, 225 counties offered only one insurance option on the exchanges.
2. In 2017, the healthcare industry expects 650 counties to offer only one insurer on the exchanges, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
3. Alaska and Alabama will most likely only offer one payer option in the ACA marketplace next year.
4. Of those counties offering one coverage option, 70 percent have mostly rural communities.
5. Some payers, including UnitedHealth Group and Humana, are opting out of some state exchanges.
6. Rural counties often had fewer and noncompetitive providers that wouldn't meet the desired payment deals with insurers.
7. Additionally, insurers tend to stray away from rural residents who are racking up higher medical costs, as seen in a 2015 Inovalon study.